It was as Casper and Kellen were leaving the training facilities that they noticed a large crowd around the entrance of the gym. From a distance they could tell most of the group were younger than the others around them, and only a few of them were in uniform. Kellen felt his body pick up pace as he saw a familiar form among them. The younger ones were distracted, their heads on a swivel, while some were asking questions of the more experienced Espers.
"Hey, Invisogirl!" Kellen called and watched as the brunette head snapped towards his direction. At first, Kellen could read excitement on her face before it morphed into one of anger. He could have sworn that for a brief moment her eyes glowed purple before she charged him. Kellen felt every older Esper in the room tense as the younger Esper raced towards him, and they would have prevented her if Kellen hadn't looked so excited to see her.
"You motherfucker! I can't believe you!" She yelled as she charged him. It looked like she was going to hit him but instead she wrapped her arms around the taller man, picking him up in a tight hug and spinning him around. Kellen laughed, giving her a good squeeze in return.
"Hey, I didn't plan it." He insisted, but she harrumphed in response.
"I don't believe you for a goddamn second. Every time I go to do something on my own, thinking it's new and original, without fucking fail, you do it first! That is so petty of you." She put down the older man who smiled at her warmly. He placed his hands on her head and ruffled her hair, much to her disappointment while Kellen took her in. She'd gotten leaner in the time he hadn't seen her, her arms filling out more. From the touch alone he could tell she needed guiding, but he knew better than to do it without permission. Gwen took in her older brother at the same time, and instead of the warm smile Kellen expected, her eyes narrowed. "Woah, what the fuck happened to you while I was gone? It was only two weeks, so why does it look like you lost 20 pounds? Was the city attacked or something?" Kellen shook his head with a chuckle.
"Nah, nothing that serious. There was an incident at Guiding Center B and I stopped it. There was a huge difference in power between the Esper and I so it drained me. Don't worry, Taylor already teared into me about it." She stared at her brother's smile, her eyes narrowing further. She crossed her arms, leaning out of the older man's touch.
"Something else happened, I can smell it. Come on, spit it out. You're skin and bones but your fucking glowing at the same time. What? Did you find the love of your life or something?" Casper, who had caught up with the Field Guide only to catch the tail end of Gwen's question stuttered in his steps. He spun, trying to hide his smirk from the siblings. Kellen, however, was struggling with a different matter. Gwen had a habit of getting secrets from him, and he knew this was a risky interaction. He'd never been able to get her a surprise gift their whole lives, she had always cornered him and forced him to tell her.
"It's not something I can say here." He told her, and she frowned.
"Does it have anything to do with Mom and Dad?" She asked, and Kellen shook his head.
"No. I promise. But, like you, I'll probably be in the news soon. Actually, we were both in the news yesterday." Kellen teased. A look crossed her face and she took another step back to really look over her brother. Her eyes locked onto the jacket on his arm, before it clicked where she knew that jacket from.
"Why the fuck do you have Captain Thatcher's jacket on your arm? Kellen, you told me you didn't know them that well. Were you lying? What the fuck did you get yourself into?" She demanded, and Casper took that as his cue to step in.
"Hello. It's very nice to meet you. I'm Lieutenant Casper. I'm in charge of the Guides who join the Guild, like your brother. I'm glad that we're going to have such capable siblings joining around the same time. Were you on a tour of the training facilities for A Class Espers?" He asked, smoothing the tension in the air. Gwen, being smart, dropped it. She took the hand Casper offered with a cautious smile right out of her Father's book. Kellen smiled warmly at the thought.
"Yes, we are. Esper Blake has been a great guide to us. It's very nice to meet you as well. I take it you'll be working closely with my brother if you are personally showing him around. Sorry if he's a bother. He's always been...difficult since he was a child." Gwen didn't know what tree she was barking up. Kellen took immediate offense to what she said.
"Hey, I'm not the problem out of the two of us." He protested, while his sister let go of Casper's hand, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Who, out of the two of us, got into more trouble as kids, hmm?" Kellen shook his head in protest.
"You egged me on! The only reason I would get caught is because you'd rat me out." She made a face at his words.
"I never did that. You're a liar. Plus, I'm not the one who came back with broken bones all the time Kellen. You were born with a weak body, even as a kid." Kellen narrowed his eyes, crossing his rather large arms. Even after losing all of the extra 'energy' he had stored up, it had only taken three rather large meals for most of it to come back. He was back to being a thick man, filling out the Guide uniform almost to busting. No one would look at him and think 'weak'.
"But I never got caught going out drinking underage as a kid, did I? And by Mom of all people. How stupid could you be? She can turn fucking invisible." Gwen's face flushed. Clearly, he'd struck a nerve.
"Yeah, well, I'm not the one who would cry to Mom any time I saw a bug like a little baby, even when I was old enough to go to high school." Oh, she was going to go there, huh? Casper watched in fascination as the two siblings, who separate were complete pictures of professionalism, completely lost it when put together.
"I wasn't the one who cried so hard I burst blood vessels in my eyes when I found out I wasn't a Guide like Dad." Gwen gasped, and it was clear to anyone that Kellen had brought up something they had sworn to secrecy. She took a step back as if Kellen had dealt a blow.
"You said you wouldn't bring that up again!" She complained while her brother smiled smugly at her.
"Well you shouldn't keep saying mean things about me in front of my coworkers." He told her. Gwen puffed out her cheeks.
"Well I wanted to work here first, you just piggybacked off of my plans, like always." He rolled his eyes.
"It's the other way around, Gwen. I always do something first, and you follow me." Her face was red like a tomato and Kellen could tell she was shaking. She was getting really worked up.
"You're only saying that because you're older!"
"Yeah, which makes me wiser." She let out a screech, reaching for the Guide and pretending to choke him while Kellen laughed. The siblings hadn't noticed anyone approaching them as they traded barbs until someone cleared their throat behind them. Gwen let go of her brother, and both of them spun to meet the amused gazes of Ms. Hill and the Captain.
"I get to see so many sides of you recently, Mr. Woods." Captain said, a slight tilting up of his lips. Ms. Hill crossed her arms, staring at the two of them while Kellen had to gather his jaw off of the ground. The Captain always looked good, but today he was dressed to impress. His uniform fit snugly, his shoes shined brightly. He had even gone for a more formal jacket that he only wore for special occasions, along with the official hat that he rarely wore on the front lines. He had his hands behind his back as he stared down at the siblings, and Kellen swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth. His bright, yellow gaze roamed Kellen from top to bottom. "The uniform suits you, Mr. Woods. Your colouring compliments the Guide uniform." Kellen's cheeks heated.
"Thank you for the compliment, Captain." His eyes creased slightly as his smile widened at Kellen's shy words, before he turned to the young Esper.
"I enjoyed your final fight, Esper Woods. Since I've had the joy of working with your brother before, I expect great things from you. I am sorry to break up your reunion but your brother and I have a prior engagement, so if you wouldn't mind, I'll be borrowing him." Gwen, who had been entranced by the Captain, slowly realised something as he spoke. Worriedly, she glanced in Kellen's direction. When Kellen caught her look, he shook his head. Gwen, having received the signal, backed off, giving a slight bow before turning back to her peers. Everyone questioned her when she returned and Kellen watched as they headed towards the sparring arena before turning his attention to the powerful Espers before him.
"She's cute Kellen. Were you hiding her because you knew that?" Ms. Hill asked, a dangerous smile on her lips. Kellen laughed. He knew all about what kind of person Ms. Hill was, since she had never been one to hide it. Ms. Hill enjoyed meeting new people, and they enjoyed meeting her. But she was off the mark in this case.
"Hiding her is damn near impossible, despite her powers. No, I didn't do that, she was just busy training with Mom before the Esper games this year. She's also quite a bit younger than me so I've always looked out for her. She's never really needed it though." Kellen's face was soft as he watched his sibling move around the gym. The other three watched the man, interested. Ms. Hill snorted.
"I think you are full of bullshit. I can tell you take your big brother role very seriously. Anyone wanting to date her should worry more about you then her Esper Mother." Kellen's smile grew wider even as his cheeks heated.
"My parents drilled it into me that I have to keep an eye on her. She's five years younger than me. She'll always be my kid sister, even when she's 80 and I'm 85." He said and Casper sighed.
"It must be nice to have siblings since you're speaking so fondly of it. It only makes me look forward to working with her since I've had a taste of what your work ethic is. Does she have the same level of compatibility as you?" He asked and Kellen shook his head.
"Nope. She's never had any problems when it came to finding matches. She's like Dad in that way. My strange lack of compatibility came out of nowhere. My Mom had at least 40% matches before Dad." The Captain cleared his throat and Kellen realised he was probably annoyed at being ignored for so long. Kellen smiled at him. "You aren't going to say that it isn't unusual, are you Captain? You aren't going to tell me that going from almost no one matching to a near perfect match is normal, are you?" The yellow eyes stared down at Kellen for a long moment before anything happened. The Captain moved his hand, reaching out to lightly graze the younger man's cheek.
"Well, it isn't something I'm an authority on. Until now, Mr. Woods, I had poor compatibility, like you." Kellen felt his eyes widen at his easy admittance of it. It wasn't something people normally spoke on, but Kellen was an open book who didn't like to lie. He didn't expect that of others though. The Captain moved closer to Kellen, bringing his face towards him. "But, I am not a fool. What happened once can happen twice. So if you somehow manage to have an even better match besides me, you must let me know. I'll have to make sure that it doesn't last for long." It was a sweet threat, and Kellen felt the laugh pull out of him.
"Captain, who would dare ask me to test with someone else now that we have the match rate that we do?" The Captain smiled at him, but didn't respond to his question. After a moment longer, he pulled away, dropping his hand as well.
"We should go look over our pair contract, and have it officially signed. I want you to read over it to see if there is anything you have a problem with or would like to adjust." Kellen nodded numbly at his words. Ms. Hill hid her smirk behind the lollipop she plopped into her mouth, while Casper said nothing as they turned as a unit to head towards the exit.
"Are we signing upstairs or downstairs?" Kellen asked him seriously and Casper nearly choked behind them. Kellen looked curiously at the man.
"Uh, obviously downstairs Guide Woods. Why would you go upstairs to sign a contract?" Casper asked, the first time Kellen felt like the man was questioning his intelligence. Ms. Hill burst into laughter while Kellen's face heated and the Captain gave him a sparkling look.
"Well uh, I....Nevermind." He muttered and Ms. Hill tried to suppress her laughter.
"Casper, the Captain took Kellen upstairs to his office before he took him to the lower office. You know, to seal the deal." Casper stumbled in his steps, before clearing his throat as the four of them left the gym.
"Ah, well, when there is more than just the Captain, Guide Woods, the lower office should be used." Kellen appreciated what Casper was trying to do, but it only made him feel more embarrassed. The Captain wasn't helping, since he was chuckling to himself as they headed for the elevators.
"Don't worry Mr. Woods. If you want to go to the upper office I am more than happy to oblige. We'll just have to wait till after we finish signing the pair contract, alright? I wouldn't want anyone to think I was forcing you." His tone was teasing, and Kellen refused to look at his damn sparkling yellow eyes.
"I don't need to go to your apartment, Captain." He stated forcefully and Kellen felt the Esper's chuckle wrap around him as they waited for the elevator.
"Oh Mr. Woods, you're going to hurt my feelings if you protest too much." The four of them stood waiting for the elevators, but Kellen could feel the Captain approaching. "Or is it that you don't care where we do it?" His tone was low and teasing. Kellen still refused to look at him even as his cheeks flamed. "Very naughty, Mr. Woods." His breath fanned Kellen's face. Kellen knew he was on fire, and he wasn't sure what to say. He was sure that anything he said after this moment would be twisted by this Esper. Kellen glanced around for help, but Ms. Hill was texting someone on her phone, not paying attention, and Lieutenant Casper was looking at the numbers of the elevator, avoiding his gaze.
"Captain, I'm not-you know what? Whatever. Think whatever you want." Kellen muttered, unable to come up with anything when the attractive Esper was breathing down his neck. The Captain pressed against him, crowding him even as he stood stock still. Kellen felt like he was in a daze.
"Oh? So then I can believe that you've been having naughty thoughts about me all day since you missed me? That you were thinking about what you would do if the two of us were alone? Like what would happen if we met alone in an elevator, both of us desperate to get our hands on each other. You'd let me press you against the wall, boxing you in because you're a little shy. You don't want others to see you in a compromising position." Kellen's pulse raced as the Captain's lips grazed the stunned man's ear. "All the while, my hands are touching your skin, molding and gripping you while you pant and whine beneath me. You know what I want to do to you, but you're protesting. You don't want anyone else to see you-"
"T-That's enough, Captain Thatcher!" Kellen's voice cracked as he shouted, while the devious Esper stepped away with laughter. Kellen's face was on fire, his heart was racing, and the elevator doors opened as if they had been listening too.
"Uh, after you two. We'll get the next one." Ms. Hill said, a slight smirk on her lips. Kellen was even more embarrassed since she'd heard everything. Kellen stormed into the elevator, his steps jerky as he swiped his card for the level the Captain's office was on while the Captain joined him. He had a smug look on his face, while Ms. Hill was fanning her cheeks as the doors closed.
"I'm curious, do you only call me Captain Thatcher when you're upset with me Mr. Woods?" Kellen frowned, ignoring him. It only made the Esper smile more. "If that's so, that's very cute of you." Kellen's frown hardened into a line and he crossed his arms, wishing the elevator would move faster. He was so lost in his thoughts he was startled when the door opened with a soft chime. Huffing, he practically ran to the Captain's office, while the Captain followed behind him, chuckling and smiling. Kellen beat the man there, standing in a huff as he waited for him. This was one of the reasons why he had originally avoided the Captain on the front lines. He'd always made him nervous, the whole time he'd known him. When on the front lines while in serious conversations, sometimes the Captain had dropped a joke that would take Kellen by surprise. Kellen hadn't thought it fair that a man that attractive was also funny and had a mischievous streak. Kellen glanced behind himself at the man slowly approaching, who only responded with a soft smile that reached his yellow eyes, doing nothing to stop his racing heart.
Fine. It was time to face the facts. Kellen had always found the Captain attractive, and that made him uncomfortable. What made him more uncomfortable was the way the Captain was currently treating him. He could not understand how someone like him, who was perfect in every way and ran the top Guild in their country, would ever go for someone like Kellen. He could now, since they had a 90% match rate, but if what the Captain had said was true, he had no idea why the man had been interested in him before. He had spent most of the time the man had known him on the front lines covered in dirt, shit and blood. It wasn't exactly an ideal place to make a love match. Plus, Kellen hadn't been looking for a romantic relationship on the front lines. He'd had his head down and was focusing on making sure people liked and respected him. In difference, the Captain had never had to fight for that, and he'd always been shiny like an action figure out there. Never a hair out of place or a spec of dirt on his uniform. That didn't mean he did nothing, oh no, Kellen had seen him in action, and the way the man moved had made Kellen's heart stop. It was like everything around him was moving in slow motion while he worked in normal time. After Kellen had realised how different the two of them were, he had tried to limit his contact with him so that he didn't get any dumb ideas. He usually only worked with the guild through Ms. Hill or another high up Esper, like Lieutenant Gunther. It had worked for the most part but then the Captain would pop up and shake up his convictions.
Fuck.
He just had to stir him up, didn't he?
Kellen bit his lip, clenching his hands into fists. The Captain caught sight of the man with clenched fists in front of his office and picked up the pace. He reached out a hand, pressing his lips apart while he tsked.
"None of that. You aren't allowed to hurt yourself, especially there. Those lips are only for me now, Mr. Woods." Kellen felt his jaw drop, assuming that was a joke. But when he met the rather serious, yellow gaze of the S Class above him, he knew it wasn't. Kellen couldn't help himself, feeling his gaze roaming over the handsome man before him, especially since he'd come to terms with some things inside of him just seconds before. When he met the Esper's gaze again, the colour had shifted into molten gold. "Mr. Woods, if you wanted me to kiss you, you only needed to ask." Kellen went to protest, wanting to say that wasn't true when the Captain's hand gripped the back of his head before he pressed his lips against his. The tingling feeling he always felt when their lips touched filled him and made his head numb. He stumbled at the force and the Captain used that as his chance to press the Guide against the door of his office. The kiss made Kellen's head spin. He pressed his hands against his chest, feeling the Captain's racing heartbeat against his palm. The Captain's grip on his hair made him gasp as he yanked it slightly, pulling his head back. The Captain's teeth gently grazed his bottom lip, gently biting the soft, plump flesh there. Kellen opened his eyes, unaware that he had even closed them and the Captain's eyes bore into him, hot and bright. A light flush touched his cheeks.
"Captain?" Kellen questioned, and the man grinned.
"No biting your lips, Mr. Woods. That's my job." He had nothing to say to that, so he simply nodded. He didn't smile down at the man, and instead stared hungrily at his lips. Kellen thought he was going to devour him again, but instead he pulled back and began fixing him. "They'll be coming around the corner in a second, otherwise I would have taken my time ravishing your lips until you were begging me for something more." Kellen blinked, stunned, while the Captain stared at him. He normally would have assumed that was a joke, but the stark hunger on the man's face made him think otherwise. The Captain shifted slightly, swiping his card and opening his office door. "Come on in, Mr. Woods."